Security solutions may store many types of sensitive information, such as passwords used to access various servers and services. Traditionally, these security solutions have protected data using symmetric encryption algorithms with a different encryption key for each piece of sensitive data (e.g., a different key for each password). As a result, the encryption key management implemented by traditional security solutions may be complex and cumbersome. Furthermore, encryption key management may grow in complexity with each new key that is added because each key may need to be protected and/or renegotiated individually.
Due to its complexity, the use of traditional encryption key management may be misdirected in some situations. For example, if the protected data is not negotiated with a third party or transmitted over a network, the robust security provided by traditional encryption key management may provide more security (and consume more computing resources) than may be necessary. Furthermore, traditional encryption key management may not be suitable in certain situations. For example, some embedded systems may lack the processing power and/or memory resources to effectively implement traditional encryption key management solutions. What is needed, therefore, is a more efficient and effective mechanism for managing encryption keys and/or encoding other data.